The device of this invention has particular application to mobile home parts in retirement areas, and, although its utility is not limited thereto, it will be described as applied to that environment.
Many thousands of retired people live in so-called mobile homes in mobile home parks. The term is no longer apt, because most of the homes are not at all mobile, and are substantial and comfortable for permanent living quarters. They may better be called manufactured type homes, and the term "mobile homes" as used herein embraces all such structures. As they get older, the chances that the people who live in these parks will have an accident in their homes, or suffer a heart attack or stroke or other sudden illness that requires immediate attention increases markedly. It is important that the victim of such an event be helped quickly. However, even with the availability of the 911 emergency telephone, long delays are occasioned by the fact that the homes in the trailer park tend to look alike, and they are often not well marked. Alarm systems have been proposed, and some are in use. For most part, these involve the use of miniature radio transmitters, which actuate a dialing system, and some of the systems involve the use of a flashing light or a horn, or both. Vanderburg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,505 discloses the use of a strobe light in a housing mounted on the outside of a building. A switch 40 is mounted on the housing, to be thrown in case of emergency. Solomon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,946 discloses an audio-visual alarm device. Systems of the radio transmitter type have the problems of radio interference, which may lead to false alarms, and a lack of a positive indication that the alarm or telephone dialing is in operation. A problem with devices in which a switch is mounted on the housing on the outside of the building is that one must be in a position to go outside to throw the switch.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide an alarm system that is economical to manufacture and affordable, that is simple and dependable, that can be activated from any place in the house, and at the same time is not subject to interference, and that gives a positive indication that it is working.
Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the following description and accompanying drawing.